Princeton Article

When looking at the article that was composed by the New York Times about Princeton University’s racial beginnings, it beings up important questions and topics about American institutions in general. Princeton, which is located in northern New Jersey, is region which today is not typically associated with the slavery. The elite university was founded in 1746, about a century before the abolishing of slavery, and its roots are deeply tied into the institution of slavery. What does this say about America’s other elite universities such as Harvard or Yale, which are both in the north and founded a long time before slavery, and both in the north. What also needs to be looked at is institutions in the south, and how more generally and stereotypically, they are more associated with the foundation of slaves, along with the mistreatment of African Americans after emancipation. I think this leads ideas looking forward about institutions in the south, such as Rhodes college, and how to go about its racially prejudice beginnings. What research has been done about slavery and Rhodes college which was founded in 1848? Certainly slavery must play some role in the college if it plays a role at Princeton. I think that it would be a really neat idea to look at Rhode’s origins to try and discover any ties that might be connected to the horrid institution of slavery.

            Another very interesting point that this article brings up it the idea of racial geography, which was a term that was used in the article. In the article, the author quotes a lady who says, “Princeton is such a microcosm of race in America. So much more has happened here than people realize” which speaks to the fact that most wouldn’t expect the first nine presidents of the university to own slaves, mainly based on its location. This relates to what was placed in our mind by high school teachers, that slavery was very sectional and organized by region, however, at one point in time, it was a dominate force in all of America. Another interesting thing that Princeton is struggling with, and will continue to struggle with in the future, is the fact that in 2001, they erected a statue of Nathan Alan Davis, the fifth president of the school, and a slave owner. I’m sure that he did a ton of good for the school, however, will this start some sort of feud on campus? This leads to many important questions about how we look at the past, and how we remember Americans, like Nathan Alan Davis, who did a lot of good for the university, but also owned slaves. 

           

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/arts/putting-the-ghosts-of-princetons-racial-past-onstage.html?mwrsm=Email